I endorse John Edwards!

Today I have gone public with my endorsement of John Edwards for President. A open letter in support of him has gone public and it includes my signature. You can see it here.

It has taken me a great bit of time to finally decide to come out for John Edwards, but he has been my favorite candidate since the spring of this year. Since all the viable Democratic candidates for President are almost identical on GLBT issues, I am relying my endorsement on other issues.

Edwards really gets it. He seems to be the most serious candidate in the race talking about getting health insurance to all Americans.

He is also the only candidate talking tough about eliminating poverty in America. Poverty is the root of so many problems including crime. Every candidate should be talking about poverty, but it took one of the wealthiest in the bunch to steer the discussion in that direction.

Polling shows that Edwards may indeed be the best candidate for America. He has a reputation for being moderate but his goals for America are far more progressive and populist. Polling also suggests he is the best candidate to face off against a Republican next November. Edwards does really well in "purple" parts of America and I really fear that anti-war Republicans and moderates willing to vote for a Democrat next year would be turned off by Hillary Clinton.

I want to be clear that all the candidates are strong challengers and would be a breath of fresh air from the nightmare we have now, but I need to weigh in with what my gut and heart tells me is best for this country and for future generations. For me that is John Edwards.

I have a lot more to say about him, but i just wanted to go public with my endorsement sooner than later. Post a comment below if you like and tell me about who your favorite candidate is and why.

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Are we really going to argue "electability"? *Sigh* Obama or Clinton could take on anyone on the right at this point, probably more strategically than Edwards could. I mean, he already lost to Team GWB/Cheney, after losing to Mr. Kerry in the primary, and he's already behind Obama and Clinton. So I mean, I have doubts about "electability" if we're going to start cautiously predicting the future here.

But that the richest (in terms of campaign dollars) white male is deemed the most "electable" isn't all that surprising to me.

Also, his health care plan is just the same as Hillary's. I know that Elizabeth got all mad when she released hers saying that she stole it from John, but seriously, they're about the same plan - force people to buy into private insurance with moderate and vague price controls.

Of course, it's easy for me to stand on the sidelines and snipe when I'm most enjoying a candidate who isn't even seriously running.

But don't worry, I'll fall in line and vote for whatever stooge the Dems put out there. Even after all this Obama talk this past week, I'd still prefer him out of the front-runners.

I have to agree with you. I have been an Edwards fan for some time now. As I continue to watch, I continue to like him best. He seems the most liberal of the top three and I love his "stand up" line. I also feel he has the best healthcare, poverty plans. I know Elizabeth is the only Spouse of the top three who is out about being PRO gay marriage too.

I'm an Edwards fan, too. The truth is that if Hillary or Obama turns out as the Dem nominee, I'll vote for either of them over any Republican, but I'd love to see Edwards take his place as our fearless leader of a candidate. I think he has a better chance, as you said, of appealing to all sides when it comes down to the November battle.

To be honest, I really have nothing against Edwards as a candidate, but at the same time, he's really done anything to impress me, nothing that makes me say, or even consider saying, "Yeah, he's the guy.".

For me, he's done nothing discernible to stand out from the crowd in any real way, nothing to really define himself as a leader and someone who can lead this country toward the kind of America we'd all like to live in.

If you're thinking that's because he's avoided speaking out on LGBT issues for the most part thus far (except to make sure people know that he doesn't support marriage equality), you'd be right. To my way of thinking, a real leader confronts difficult, controversial issues head-on and expresses his/her positions on them proactively and proudly. In short, leaders lead, and so far, John Edwards has not demonstrated to my satisfaction that he can and will do that if elected.

When you look at how Clinton and Obama are running away from our issues as fast as they can, Edwards' lack of visible support for the equality of all Americans is even more stark by comparison. Note that I'm not in any way saying that I don't believe he supports our equality in principle (except for our families and personal relationships, of course), but he's made no real effort to make that known to the American voting public. It's also worth noting that while Clinton, Obama, and others have at least included us on their campaign websites, supporter groups, and/or public statements, any such inclusion is conspicuously absent from Edwards' speeches (that I've heard), unless and until he is directly questioned on our issues, as well as from his campaign website.

In all honesty, no, I really don't think he can win, but if he wants my support and, I'd expect the support of this community, he's going to have to do better...much, much, better...on the issues that really matter in our lives than we've seen thus far.

Thoughtyou might be interested in this event: POVERTY IN AMERICA: Beyond the Numbers

To call attention to the needs of Americans trapped in poverty this holiday season, Catholic Charities USA will release findings of its annual survey showing how Catholic Charities agencies are working to address the pervasive issue of poverty in this country.

As one of the largest social service networks in the country, Catholic Charities agencies serve 4.1 million people living below the poverty line. That’s 1 in 10 people living in poverty. These agencies understand the consequences of poverty first-hand, and also know the solutions for helping individuals get on a path to self-sufficiency.

Please join us as we address the challenges facing those in poverty and the opportunities for reducing poverty in America by half by 2020.

Ø Gain a greater understanding of what’s behind the survey numbers Ø Learn about successful evidence-based case studies for addressing poverty Ø Take a state-by-state look at how and where Catholic Charities agencies are serving the greatest numbers of individuals in need of healthcare, food, employment, and housing services, as well as the many social services that build stronger families and communities Ø Trace the trends in the needs of Catholic Charities’ clients since 2002 Ø Hear more about Catholic Charities USA’s Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America, an ambitious plan to cut poverty by half by 2020 Ø Find out about the 3Ps for Reducing Poverty—the way you can ensure that presidential candidates focus on this issue during the primary season and beyond